Burner to stage “virtual” town hall to counter Bush visit

Democrat Darcy Burner will try to counter President Bush’s visit to Bellevue to raise money for Republican Rep. Dave Reichert with a high-profile event of her own.

While the president speaks at a private reception at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue Burner will stage a virtual “town hall” on Iraq in cyberspace.

The forum will be moderated by blogger Joan McCarter of DailyKos and, according to a statement from Burner’s campaign, will include video testimonials from Iraq war foes like former Ambassador Joe Wilson of “Plamegate” fame.

Mindful that Bush will be raising big bucks for Reichert on Monday, Burner is asking people to empty their wallets and pocketbooks, too.

And last but not least, please make a generous contribution to my campaign – and please ask your friends to help as well.

In conjunction with the Town Hall, scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday, the campaign is trying to raise $100,000. For details and to submit questions for the town hall participants check out Burner’s Web site.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Reichert’s 8th Congressional District, made up mostly of Seattle’s eastern suburbs, is a true swing district, albeit one that has yet to elect a Democrat to Congress. Reichert is taking a calculated risk having a very unpopular president come to town.

However Burner, who was defeated by Reichert in ’06, is taking a risk of her own. As a colleague of mine said, she often seems like she’s running for the 7th District (Seattle) seat, not the suburban 8th District. She, too, risks alienating voters if she’s seen as too liberal and too “Seattle.”